eBay’s U.S. sales rise 14% in Q3

By Zak StamborManaging Editor

U.S. shoppers bought $5.59 billion worth of merchandise on eBay in Q3.

The value of merchandise sold on eBay Inc.’s U.S. marketplace increased 14.1% year over year in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay reported today. Total marketplace sales increased 16.5%, with sales outside the U.S. growing by 18.1%. The company’s Q3 revenue rose 32.0%.

For the third quarter ended Sept. 30, eBay reported:

• The value of goods sold to U.S. consumers through eBay’s online marketplaces, excluding autos, increased 14.1% to $5.59 billion in Q3 from $4.90 billion in the same period a year ago. Global marketplace sales grew 16.5% to $14.67 billion from $12.59 billion in the same quarter last year. EBay earned commissions of $1.35 billion on those sales, and 56% of marketplace revenue was from outside the U.S.

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• Fixed-price sales represented 63% of marketplace volume compared with 60% a year earlier, reflecting eBay’s shift away from the auction format as more large and midsized retailers use eBay as a sales platform, selling merchandise for a fixed price.

• Active users of eBay’s marketplaces totaled 98.7 million, up 5.9% from 93.2 million a year earlier. (Active users are those who have listed or bought on eBay in the previous 12 months.)

• Payment volume increased 30.9% year over year to $29.28 billion, of which 66% came from the company’s merchant services unit that handles off-eBay payments for e-retailers.

• Active users of eBay’s payment services, which include consumers with PayPal or Bill Me Later accounts, increased 13.8% year over year to 103.0 million from 90.5 million.

• EBay’s total Q3 revenue rose 32.0% to $2.97 billion from $2.25 billion a year ago.

• Q3 net income was $491 million, up 13.7% from $432 million a year ago.

For the first nine months of 2011, eBay reported:

• Revenue of $8.27 billion, up 24.2% from $6.66 billion in 2010.

• Net income of $1.25 billion, up nearly 1% from $1.24 billion.

Key to eBay’s future success is mobile commerce, and eBay expects to sell nearly $5 billion in merchandise to mobile shoppers this year, says CEO John Donahoe. PayPal Mobile is expected to exceed $3.5 billion in payment volume. “Mobile is one way online and offline shopping are blending into a single commerce environment,” he says. “We are focused on enabling commerce, helping consumers shop anytime, anywhere, and being the commerce partner of choice for retailers of all sizes."